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First UK-grown Pinotage set for release this year
Leonardslee Vineyard in West Sussex planted the UK’s first commercial Pinotage vineyard in 2018, and its inaugural vintage is expected to hit shelves this year.
An experimental planting of Pinotage to evaluate the South-African grape under English growing conditions has proved successful, Leonardslee Vineyard tells db.
Launched by owner Penny Streeter, in a bid to emulate the success of her Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate in Hermanus, SA, and overseen by winemaker Johann Fourier, the project saw less than one hectare of Pinotage planted at the Sussex winery in 2018.
Following an ‘excellent first harvest in 2020’, Leonardslee is now gearing up to release its first Pinotage expression, which it says will be available by the end of 2022.
“Pinotage is an early-ripening grape that accumulates sugar very fast which we believe should work well in UK conditions when well managed – and picked before cold and disease pressures set in,” says winemaker Fourier.
“Having said that, this is a test project so we’ll see what the vineyard conditions allow us to do.”
Fortunately, the Leonardslee estate, which also features a Michelin Star restaurant and luxury accommodation, has a back-up plan.
“Pinotage – of which Pinot Noir is one of the parents – makes a good base for sparkling wine; so if all else fails we’ll end up with a unique English sparkling that’s got a South African twist to it,” says Fourier. “But so far so good!”
The Leonardslee estate, and nearby sister property Mannings Heath Golf and Wine Estate, which has 13 hectares of vineyards and produces 70,000 bottles of sparkling wine per year, are both part of Streeter’s bid to create a South African-style wine experience on UK soil.
The estates feature wine tastings and golf buggy tours of the vineyards, which sit amidst expansive gardens overlooking the South Downs.
A Pinotage walking tour at Leonardslee also offers the opportunity to taste five wines from South Africa’s Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate.
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